The Path of Asura
by S. Syang
Summary: “I walk the path of Asura, Genkai. Bloodstained and ruthless, demonic and brutal. You know that, and you know why.” ... “But it would have been a beautiful life.” A Genkai and Toguro story, from Toguro's point of view. Currently on an indefinite hiatus.
1. Chapter One

Author's Note: Okay, if I try and explain where I went here, then I'd take up too much space. Try going to my authors page, I think I explained everything there. But I'm back now, (supposedly) with three new stories, which will be uploaded soon, although my internet connection is quite unstable right now, which means I might not be able to upload all of them at the same time. Anyways, enough of that, here's my newest story, The Path of Asura  
Credits: I got lots of inspiration for this story from Aniiston's Tainted and His Picture (see below author's note for more details) which was taken off the site a while ago. The only copy of it that's left out there is the first thirteen chapters, which is on Spirit Shadow, a Genkai fan site which you can find out easily on Google.  
Also, I got the path of Asura from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind manga, book seven. It's a wonderful movie and an even more wonderful manga. Anyways, I think that's it, but I don't know…

Oh yes, I realize that I never put a disclaimer on Lily Evan's Diary… I felt really bad for that, I can't believe I forgot, although I do think it's sorta pointess to make a disclaimer, since everyone knows I don't own anything. But there's a disclaimer for this one:  
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of the characters.

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"_But it would have been a beautiful life."_

His words echoed in his own ears, as he stood at the final gate to the purgatory. He had heard her small smile, and her murmur of _"Baka"_ as he turned away from her and walked to the first gate.

_"I don't regret what I did."_

He searched his mind again for regret, and he found none. He was glad. He had lived his life how he had, and although it hadn't gone according to plan, the completeness of it all won over some of the minor regrets in his life.

_"I walk the path of Asura, Genkai. Bloodstained and ruthless, demonic and brutal. You know that, and you know why."_

The words that had left his lips years ago came back to him, as did many other phrases. An involuntary flood of memories came back to him along with the words, and amidst all of the scenes playing through his head, a face shone through, the face of the woman who he had befriended, loved, and killed.

He tilted his head towards the sky above the purgatory, the sky's floating clouds and poetic pink color a contrast to the dark depths of the building in front of him. A faint smile crossed his lips as the sky brought him back to another day, years afore…

The Path of Asura

I walked through the shadowy streets of the assumedly abandoned part of the town that was infested with the weaker youkai that had managed to sneak into ningenkai somehow. The sky, which had been a beautiful pink color before the sun set, was now black as if someone had poured a bottle of ink over the pink lower layer. The streets were dark, the misty half-moon the only source of light. Although I knew that I was safe from all youkai that came here, I stayed on my guard, hoping to evade any such creatures in a small attempt of peace.

However, as I neared a small alley that conjoined two of the larger streets, I heard a commotion coming from the shadows. I sensed many weak, demon ki, but another more powerful, experienced ki that belonged to… a human? I quietly slipped into the alley, hiding among the shadows and hiding my ki as best as possible.

A gang of demons had encircled a young girl, who was in the center, on her guard and ready to react to whatever they might do. The lead demon hissed slightly, as he grinned at her. The girl looked like easy prey, but her ki contradicted her appearance. Long, elbow length, sakura-pink hair was braided and tied back, fitting perfectly with the pink-red fighting gi that she had on top of white pants. Dark hazel eyes gazed reproachfully at the lead demon, holding both a glare and an air of peace. She was in an ordinary fighting stance, and she seemed to have moved into it as if she had forgotten what she was doing, only that she had done it so many times that she could do it without thinking, yet sill remain in perfect form.

I knew that she could kick their asses.

"Hello, little girl. Would you like to come with us tonight?" He asked, advancing on her. The other demons nodded as well, mutters of "She's one hot ningen" coming from the creatures.

"No, I don't think I will." She said calmly, her voice fluid and graceful and cool, as her face remained calm although her eyes flashed slightly. "Please let me continue on my way, I do not want to start an unnecessary fight." She said quietly. They ignored her last comment though, and snickers came from the crowd of demons.

"No?" The leader hissed. "I think you're quite mistaken…" He said, before leaping at her. She immediately executed a high kick, catching him in the stomach, before turning to the rest of the demons who were inevitably coming towards her as well. One by one, they were thrown against the walls of the alley, but some got back up, determined to kill the human girl who had humiliated them.

At that point, I stepped from my place in the shadows, my tall figure looming up above them. A couple of gasps came from the demons, and a whisper of "It's Toguro!" confirmed that they too knew of my unwanted reputation. Many of them had already begun to run away, although the braver ones stood their ground.

"Please leave." I said quietly. "I do not wish to harm you." I said. Growling, the last couple of demons leapt at me, and I quickly downed them, letting their unconscious bodies drop to the ground.

"Thank you." The girl said, although I knew that she could have stopped them herself. I said so, and she laughed lightly. "That's true, although I didn't want to hurt them. They just wouldn't leave me alone." She said, sighing slightly, her voice not trying to defend herself, simply giving the truth.

"I understand." I said, knowing the feeling of when you simply had to fight in a defense, although you wished to hurt no one. I had never fought any other way, and I had a feeling that this girl was the same. "My name is Toguro." I offered, although I knew perfectly well that she knew who I was.

"I've heard of you." She said, her voice slightly amused. "I must admit that you seem different than who I thought you might be." She said. "But then, I guess I'm the same." She amended slightly. "I'm Genkai."

"The master of the spirit wave?" I asked interestedly.

"Yes." She said, walking alongside me.

"You're quite well known yourself." I said mildly, although it was an understatement. The name Genkai was known through ningenkai as a fighting prodigy who was a master at many things, both wise and compassionate and in makai, she was known as one of most powerful humans to have ever existed, because she controlled the now legendary spirit wave. However, I myself was known for my inhuman strength and impressive control of spirit energy. We were both in the S-class category, two of the few humans that shared the trait. However, my image was as well known as my reputation, where as the image of the human girl Genkai was a shadowy figure that no one really had ever seen. For this, I envied her slightly, but I had learned to live with the life I had, and I had dealt with it for many years already.

"I know." She said, not bothering to hide the exasperation mixed with disgust in her voice; she too did not like her reputation, and her attitude toward it interested me.

"So where are you headed?" I asked casually, as we stepped out of the narrow alley and onto the larger street.

"West." She said shortly, continuing down the road.

"Near the forest?" I asked.

"Yes. Close to the pond. At the Temple, in fact." She said.

"You're quite close. A couple of miles away, I think. My own dojo is on the north side of the pond." I said.

"A dojo?" She asked, glancing at me.

"Yes. I train my students in martial arts." I said, stating the obvious. She smiled slightly.

"You must be a good teacher. I would like to see you teach sometime." She said, this time tilting her head to look at me. I was already extremely tall, and her petite figure was dwarfed by my height; she reached up to about my knee.

"You are welcome to come at any time; it's not hard to find." I said, knowing that she probably wouldn't come. Meetings like this were always short lasting, and the few fighters that I had met hadn't ever further contacted me. I understood; the peace of being solitary was almost an art itself, and it was practiced by many a good fighter, partly including myself, although I did teach students. However, I hadn't ever encountered such a master, and so I presumed that of course that the master of the spirit wave lived in self-created and complacent isolation as well.

However, she simply nodded politely and sincerely, replying with the same tone.

"I look forward to it." She said, still smiling.

We arrived at the landmark-known huge tree, with part of the temple in the distance. We were already upon her grounds. I thought of all of the times that I had traveled through this forest, not knowing that the master of the spirit wave owned it. Silently, we set off into the dark forests. For any amateur fighter, the forest was already hazardous and scary enough in the daytime, and in the darkness, it was lethal. However, I had taken the forest short cut many times, even on a moonless night, and I knew every path in it.

We calmly made our way through, taking the shortest path that went directly through the forest. The wolves already knew not to disturb me, as did the insufferable bat that had flown around me madly until I knocked it flying to the other end of the forest. I calmly sidestepped a vine as she jumped to avoid the grasp of another one, and she nimbly jumped through the tree branches almost noiselessly, finally jumping down at the edge of the forest.

"The path diverges here." I said, uttering four words that seemed so innocent at that moment, but yet would come to mean so much many years later. She nodded.

"I'll see you around then." She said, giving me one last smile before continuing on my way.

I smiled back, before turning away and walking down the dusty road that lead home.

Author's Note: Okay, I decided to write a very uncommon, (it might even be the first one) Toguro point of view fiction. It's probably going to be pretty long, so bear with me. But I suddenly realized that one of the best GenkaiToguro fictions of all time, Tainted and His Picture, written by Aniiston which was sadly taken off for some reason, starts out nearly the same as mine does. Now I feel really bad, as if I'm committing plagiarism. In that story, they start out in some demon city, and Genkai gets into a fight, and Toguro intervenes. However, it's not exactly the same… but I feel horrible anyways.


	2. Chapter Two

Author's Note: Yay, the second chapter is up two hours after the first! Don't expect it to last though; I was in the mood so I typed up something really quickly. It's a long chapter as an apology for going away for so long, although I doubt anyone will read this one; I should be updating Lily Evan's Diary, but still… I'm having a writer's block for that one anyways, and I have no idea what to put next. Anyways, I know that no one's going to notice this story for a while, so I'm virtually talking to myself. That's not good… TT

By the way, when you read my stories, I really would like you to read the author's notes, although I suppose it's up to you.

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A couple weeks passed, and as I had guessed, the interesting young girl that I had met that night did not make a second appearance in my life. I quickly forgot about her, and continued with my life.

I woke up, early as usual, and I quickly got dressed, going to the bathroom to wash. The sun had not yet rose, and I would be able to get a good two hours of training in before my students arrived. I walked to the kitchen where oni-san (older brother) was already awake, drinking his morning tea.

"Ohayo, otouto." He said, not looking up.

"Ohayo." I said in return, pouring myself some of his tea.

My brother and I had a strange relationship. I respected him, and I valued him highly, but we were always different. Different in principle, different in thinking and opinions, and we didn't look anything alike. Although he was only five years older than me, he looked to be twenty years ahead. His hair leaned toward a steely gray color, and it was always that way, unlike my own black hair. He was also an average height; nothing special, but the way he walked seemed to make him look much thinner and smaller; not weak, simply less noticeable.

He was not the type of person that you would look and decide not to fight with because of strength; he was the type of person that would make you extremely nervous to the point of fright when you looked at him. But his eyes were a cold, icy blue-gray, where mine were ordinary blackish brown ones that seemed to hold a softer quality to them. He and I both did not like to talk much, but his voice always seemed to be mocking when he did speak. He preferred to be more clever and almost sneaky in his thinking, where as I was straight to the point. If someone were to pick a fight with him, he would demolish them immediately, because he never felt any remorse towards such beings. I never thought upon any of this; he was my brother, and an excellent fighter at that. I respected him, I lived in the same house as he did, and he was my flesh and blood.

I finished the tea quickly and got up and went outside to train. Meditation for an hour would be ideal, and then I would move on to my basic physical training, involving – what else? – vigorous running, push-ups, curl ups, and other such things. Then, if I had enough time, I would work on my actual fighting skills, numerous going-throughs of every single stance, attack, defense, and other things that I needed to practice, and only until that was finished could I start working on things that I had not quite developed yet.

However, given only the small amount of time that I had before my students arrived, I usually only had enough time to go through meditation and my basic physical exercises before the first of my students came.

On this particular day, I had just enough time to finish the forty-eighth lap around the dojo, and I then waited inside the dojo for my students. One by one, they came in, "Ohayo Toguro-sensei!" ringing through out the room as they greeted me. I smiled, knowing that I was completely happy with my life.

"Alright." I said, once all my students were there. "Today, after our warm ups, we'll work on our…" The bursting in of one of my students interrupted me. The boy was panting, although a grin was wide on his face.

"Sumimasen, Toguro-sensei!" He said, quickly falling into his place in line. I sighed, as the rest of the class laughed.

"That's the third time you've been late this week, Kamikaze." I said, feigning weariness at one of my best students.

"Hai, I know." He said, a guilty smile on his face as he rubbed the back of his head.

"What, were you visiting Adoni again?" Someone called. Kamikaze colored, before protesting loudly, snapping at the giggles, turning redder than ever. (A/N Oh no, I just made a half rhyme… winces)

"Adoni is by cousin, for god's sake!" He said, the smiles on the other students' faces disappearing, replacing with embarrassment. "That's why you see me with her all the time; I live with her." He said, his eyes narrowed and glaring angrily. (A/N That happened to one of my friends before, heheh… )

"That's enough." I said, a slightly amused smile on my face. I sobered quickly. "I'll have ten extra laps from you, Kamikaze." I said sternly.

"Hai!" I said, saluting, the color gone from his cheeks and the grin back on. I shook my head, hiding a smile. Suddenly, I noticed something at the door to the huge room. The students followed my gaze to see a small, pink-haired head poking inside, a look of curiosity on her face. It was Genkai.

"Toguro-sensei, who's that?" Kamikaze asked loudly.

"Kamikaze no baka, it's his girlfriend!" Someone else replied.

"Come in," I called, smiling. She stepped into the room and cautiously walked over, although she smiled at the students.

"Are these your students?" She asked.

"Students!" I called loudly, and the talk died down. "Get in line, and show respect to this lady." I said sternly. "Give your names." I instructed, after the class had gotten into a straight line. Genkai smiled.

"Hiroshi." The first boy said, smiling and bowing respectfully.

"Toshiro." The next boy said and bowed.

"Jomei." The tallest one said, bowing as well.

"Yokio." A street-punk looking kid said, giving a rakish grin and a short bow. Next to him, an identical looking person, only with much longer hair that was put up in a high ponytail bowed.

"Nari." She said, giving a slight grin like her twin brother before her.

"Mikito." The next boy said stiffly, glaring at Genkai. He made a tiny bow, so small that it was nearly disrespectful. He sniffed slightly at her. She was rather startled, and glanced at Toguro who was restraining from sighing and rolling his eyes at the arrogant boy.

"Kiyoshi." A small, quiet boy said, bowing politely.

"Aki." A girl said politely, bowing, her strangely orange eyes sparkling and her high ponytail swaying as she smiled at Genkai friendly.

"Kado, but everyone calls me Kamikaze." Kamikaze said, grinning widely at Genkai while bowing. "Are you really Toguro-sensei's girlfriend?" He managed to fit in before the next person introduced themselves.

"Kyoko." The final person said, another girl. She looked friendly enough, her eyes sparkling with laughter, and her black hair cropped short, making her look like a boy just like all the others. She bowed as well, smiling.

"Ohayo, everyone." Genkai said. "I'm Genkai." She said, bowing to them all.

"The Genkai?" The arrogant boy, Mikito, burst out. She smiled slightly.

"I'm afraid so." She said almost apologetically. Talk rose again this time with a generally amazed tone. All former misguided guesses of her having a relationship with their teacher were erased, leaving a polite amazement behind. I took this chance to talk to her.

"So, did you just decide to drop in and cause an uproar in my class?" I asked, smiling. She laughed.

"Gomen, I lust went for a walk, and I thought that this might be your dojo, so I just took a look." She explained. I raised an eyebrow.

"Well, would you be willing to help me train these kids? Just for today?" I asked her.

"Of course. I'd be glad to." She said. I nodded.

"Hai." I then called for attention. "Alright, slackers, get ready for some serious training. Genkai here has decided to train with us today." I called. The class cheered. "So I want thirty laps around the dojo, and then twenty push-ups; the usual." I said, watching them immediately call "Hai!" in unison, before running out the door.

"Are these all your students?" Genkai asked.

"Yes. These are the only one's I'm accepting now; these are my oldest, most elite students." I said. "There are only ten, but trust me, that's already hard enough to handle." I said, a grin on my face. She smiled as well.

"Well, I think I'm going to go join them." She said, running outside as well, smiling.

She easily caught up with them, and the class laughed with her as she raced the best runners, Kamikaze, Kyoko, and Yokio, winning with ease as her small, light form zipped between the students. They arrived at the end of their fortieth lap, consumed with laughter as she and Kamikaze sprinted towards the end. I smiled. The students were already captivated with her, and I was glad.

We made our way through the exercises with much jubilance, Genkai enthusiastically taking part in everything, cheering and refreshing the students. We finally got to the actual teaching, and by now it was about 9:00 am.

"I want to test your reaction today, so we're going to be sparring. We'll have a little tournament, and I'll pair you up." I said. I then proceeded to pain them up.

"Hiroshi and Yokio." I called, smiling in my mind. I was going to pair up the complete opposites. It was going to be interesting.

"Kamikaze and Toshiro." I continued. " Jomei and Kiyoshi." I said, smiling. Jomei was as tall as I was, and Kiyoshi was Genkai's size. "And finally, that leaves Kyoko and Mikito." I said. "Get into your pairs now." I called, and they immediately complied.

There would be no problem between Hiroshi and Yokio; both of them had pleasant enough temperaments, although their fighting styles were completely different. Hiroshi was very graceful and fluid with his movements, and he had based his style off the older versions of martial arts. Yokio was more of a street fighter, with more rough and coarse attacks. Kamikaze was completely friendly and optimistic, and he and Toshiro were both excellent fighters. The fight between Jomei and Kiyoshi would be quite interesting. However, it was Kyoko's fight that I was most worried about. I hadn't realized I had paired them until they were the only ones left.

Mikito was a very rich and arrogant boy who came from the family that were the descendants of a famous samurai. He looked down on anyone that was "lower" than him, and he especially despised Kyoko because she was a girl. He was elegant and well trained, and he was an excellent fighter. Deeper down, I knew that there was something about this boy that he was hiding, but he was so antisocial that I never could see what it was. Kyoko was the exact opposite. Willing to defy society and laugh in their faces, she was the ultimate tomboy, something that Mikito hated. She was casual and friendly, the exact opposite of him. If she beat him, which was actually quite likely, for she was an excellent fighter, then he would hold an even larger grudge on her than ever. However, if he beat her, than it would only feed his ego even more, convincing him that he was right in his prejudice against, well, everything.

I wandered around, watching my students spar, correcting them mildly here and there. I noticed Genkai, standing by the wall, concentrating on Mikito and Kyoko's fight. Concern was written on her face, and I could soon see why. Mikito had gone full out, and was fighting at his peak against Kyoko, who was a bit overwhelmed at the sudden burst of energy. I walked over to Genkai, watching the fight with her.

"Someone's going to get hurt." She said softly. "It's going to be either one of them, but Mikito has gone too deep to come back out without getting either of them harmed." She said, looking at me, and I knew she was right.

"Hey, whoa, Mikito, calm down!" Kyoto yelled, evading one of his punches. "We're only sparring; I doubt Toguro-sensei would like it if you killed anyone." She said, catching the next punch and flipping his arm behind his back. He growled, kicking backwards, giving her just enough time to let go and jump away.

"You're right; I can kill anyone." He said. "Keep that in mind, onna." (Onna is an impolite and diminutive term for woman.)

"Onna!" Kyoko said, sizzling. "You arrogant little idiot…" She said, her eyes now narrowed, her cheerfulness gone. However, the wiser Kyoko inside knew that if she went in an all out fight, then both of them would suffer serious injuries.

Genkai's eyes widened. "Oh no…" she muttered.

"What?" I asked.

"Kyoko knows that if she fights back, they're both going to get hurt. So in order to stop that from happening, I think she's just going to let herself get hit so that Mikito would be satisfied." She said softly.

I knew she was right. Above all things, Kyoko was completely compassionate and empathetic, and she would rather end a fight by being weak on purpose than hurt another in a simple spar.

I started to stop them, but Genkai shook her head.

"You would only make Mikito hurt Kyoko even more." She said sadly. "He has serious problems that need to be healed."

By then, all the other students were done, and they had gathered to watch.

"Please, Mikito, calm down!" Kyoko yelled, evading another punch. "You can't go on like this forever."

"Oh yeah?" He retorted, swinging to kick her. She sighed and bit her lip, purposely taking the impact of the blow. The class gasped.

"Kyoko, what the hell are you doing?" Kamikaze yelled.

"It's… the only way." She said, getting up slowly. Mikito paid no attention. He struck her again, this time on the face.

"What the hell, Kyoko!" Kamikaze yelled again, as he watched his friend fall to the ground.

"The faster I lose, the faster the match is over, and the faster no one gets hurt." Kyoko said, getting back up again.

"You're getting hurt!"

"I know, but at least… at least it's better than if he got hurt. Think about it." She said, her breath gasping.

Kamikaze mouthed soundless words, and looked helplessly at me.

"There's nothing we can do. It's her fight." I said softly. "You know that he would only be more angered at her if we stopped him." Kamikaze slumped, as I knew that he knew that he could do nothing, but watch.

"Kyoko…" He said, almost pleading. Finally, Mikito stepped back, panting, but a satisfied smile on his face. Then, without another word, he swiftly left the dojo. (A/N Another real life experience… seems sort of unrealistic, but it's happened to one of my friends before; she got beaten up really badly last week for the same reasons. Most of the student part of the story is based on my school life, and then ten people here are based on ten of my friends, myself not included, ) Kamikaze ran to help Kyoko up, and Genkai sighed.

"I feel sorry for Mikito." She said, shaking her head. "He must have a hard life to have fought like that." She said. I didn't reply.

"Kamikaze, take Kyoko to the kitchen and find her some ice or something. Then, please walk her home, if that's okay." I instructed. "For the rest of you, class is over. Come back the same time tomorrow, and we'll continue. Someone please tell Mikito that I expect him here tomorrow as usual." I called after them, as they said goodbye to Genkai and I and left the dojo, talking amongst themselves.

"I'll do it." A quiet voice volunteered. "I live closest to him." I nodded.

"Thanks, Aki." I said, knowing that "close" was about 30 miles away. For me, that would be nothing, but for someone still in training, and still half-grown at that, it would be quite hard. Mikito lived uptown, where all of the aristocrats and rich "snobby" people did, far away from the rest of the students. Going all the way to the rich neighborhood was one thing; but facing Mikito would be worse.

"Are you sure?" I asked. She gave a smile.

"Yes." She said sincerely. "I'll be fine, Toguro-sensei." She said reassuringly. "Anyways, see you tomorrow." She said, giving a quick bow to Genkai and I in turn, before turning and jogging out the door.

Genkai looked at me wryly.

"You have an interesting bunch of students." She commented.

"They're good people." I defended. "Mikito is just…" I sighed. "The whole Mikito against Kyoko thing started ages ago; I only made a stupid mistake by pairing them. This wasn't exactly the best day to come. If you came tomorrow instead of today, you wouldn't have seen this." I said.

"I know." She said softly. There was an uncomfortable silence. "I think I should leave now." She finally said. I nodded.

"Well, I guess I'll see you…" I trailed off.

"Tomorrow." She said firmly. She smiled at the surprise on my face. "I like your students, and I like training them. I think I might just make it a habit." She said lightly.

"Hai." I nodded. "Well, I expect you tomorrow at 7 am sharp." I said, smiling back. She nodded before jogging off. I watched her leave, and turned to see my brother.

"Who was that, otouto?" He asked.

"A friend." I said, smiling slightly, before going out to train.

A/N: Well, that's it… ugh, I still feel like I'm ripping off Tainted and His Picture. If anyone by any chance has a copy of that, I'll be in your debt forever. The only copy left on the Internet is on Spirit Shadow, but it's only the first 13 chapters of it. Well, the students that I created aren't that similar… sort of. If you want more details, you should go to Spirit Shadow and read the first part of Tainted and His Picture. It helps that I have three female characters and Aniiston only had one. I think I should explain some of the names of the students though, after all, I spent ages researching them.

Hiroshi- this student is a polite person, friendly and pleasant. Hiroshi means "giving" or "generous," but doesn't take up much in the plot.

Toshiro- this student is very gifted, and the name means "talented" or "gifted," but he's also a minor character in the plot.

Jomei- this student is another one of the minor characters; the literal meaning is "giving off light" I think, but I'm not so sure…

Yokio- an independent, Yuske-Urameshi street fighter, punk sort of person. Yokio means "The boy who goes his own way," I think.

Nari- this means thunder. She's Yokio's twin, and she has a similar temperament; tough and strong, but she has a strong connection with her brother and once people prove themselves to her, she'll be forever loyal and respectful to them.

Mikito- I think this means "prince," but you get the point. He's really arrogant, but he has some secrets and all that.

Kiyoshi- a quiet, calm boy who is almost timid, and he's also quite small for his age. His name means "quiet" or at least as my source gave me. Again, he's not so significant in the story.

Aki- The literal meaning is autumn, and this girl also plays an important part in the story. She's friendly and completely kind, much like Genkai herself, but she's good at fighting.

Kado/Kamikaze- I think Kado means gateway. I don't know how that fits the character Kamikaze, that's why I gave him the nickname Kamikaze, which basically means a large amount of energy, or just plain crazy. However, Kamikaze isn't really a name, so I couldn't name him Kamikaze from the start. Did that make sense? O.o

Kyoko- Kyoko means mirror. She's really empathetic, and thinks more about everyone else than herself, but she's willing to go against tradition and do what she wants.

Er… I don't know why I just explained all of that, but I'm in an odd mood. O.o I'm pretty sure that my translations are incorrect, because I got them from one of my friends, who studied a bit of Japanese, but she hasn't used her Japanese for ages…

I was thinking of adding a couple more students, because I have more friends I want to put in, but I want this to be a Genkai and Toguro based fiction (of course), and too many characters will take away from it. I thought it would only be fun if I had some minor stories about the students, just to add to the story… besides; I love doing stuff like this.

I'm aware that most of you wont like the student parts, but this story is more for myself then anything else, because I wanted to challenge myself to make a story from Toguro's point of view. But I promise, this is almost the only chapter that focuses mostly on the students. I needed to do this so that I, myself, would get to know them right before they die later on in the story. Anyways, if you want, you can read the extra below, but it's more for my friend, ahem glares at friend.

Oh my god… this Author's Note was a page long… -- I talk way too much…

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A/N: This next part isn't in Toguro's point of view anymore, it's the small bit where Aki goes to talk to Mikito… my friend insisted that I put it in, so I did.

Aki walked slowly towards Uptown, wondering what she was going to say to Mikito. However, her initial worry was how she was going to be let in. Knowing all of the rich families, they probably had some sort of guard or butler or someone at the door, and she had no idea how she was going to get through. Nervousness and panic filled her, but she knew that she had to go… for Toguro-sensei's sake.

No, she thought. That's not right either. She told herself as she started to climb a steep hill. The houses were already getting steadily bigger. I'm doing this not for Toguro-sensei… but for Mikito. The whole truth of it puzzled her, and she had no idea why or how this was going to help her fellow student. All she knew was that something told her that she needed to speak to Mikito, and maybe comfort him a bit. But then why would he need comforting? It's poor Kyoko that needs to be comforted. She thought, remembering what had happened vividly.

Her thoughts led back to many years ago, when she, Kyoko, Kamikaze and Mikito were all Toguro-sensei's students. Now, they were his oldest students, and had known each other for many years. She smiled slightly as she remembered the small, childhood crush she had developed on Mikito. Yeah sure, he was cute, and he's even cuter now, but he really can be a jerk. She thought grimly, at the same time wondering if her need to "comfort Mikito" was somehow connected to her childhood affections towards the boy. He had only seemed to have gotten worse over the years, but she pushed that away. All the same, I'm going to do this. She thought determinedly, as she headed straight for the largest house at the end of the cul de sac.

The Namiyoshi Mansion.

She stepped up to the gate and pressed the small, white marble button that was below a small intercom. In a couple of minutes, a voice came from the machine.

"Yes? Who is calling?" A pompous voice asked.

"A… friend of Mikito. I bear a message for him from his teacher, Toguro-sensei."

"I shall ask the young master if he will see you." The voice said, and Aki slumped, knowing that Mikito would never let her in. After a couple of minutes, the voice was back. "The young master will see you and hear your message." The voice said, and the large iron double gates that were gilded with gold swung open.

Aki, breathing a sigh of relief, walked straight through the gates and onto the fine cobblestone ground, the gates clanging shut behind her.

Ahead of her, a large fountain spurted a gaily stream of water, and she walked carefully on the path that lead around it to the giant double oak doors of The Namiyoshi Mansion. They opened for her, and a man held the doors open for her.

"The young master's suite is upstairs, all the way down left hallway." The man said, his voice matching that of who answered her at the gate. Aki thanked him and carefully taking her shoes off, she climbed up the huge grand staircase. The hallway stretched out before her, but she took the one of the left and went all the way to the end.

At the end was another set of double doors, again with a doorbell which she rung, rolling her eyes at the complexity of it. However, no one answered, and Aki carefully pushed open the door and padded softly in. She entered what looked like a living room, and continued through the only doorway, leading to a dining room. She blinked. Mikito had his own dining room? Finally, she arrived at a single door, which she took a deep breath and then opened slowly, peering inside.

It swung open noiselessly, and she stepped inside and shut the door behind her. The bedroom was huge, with a giant bed in the middle. A desk and chair was set neatly in the corner, and the wall next to the door was covered with bookshelves. There was a large space in the center of the room where she presumed he practiced. On the far wall was a huge window, and on the window seat was sitting… Mikito.

However, it wasn't the proud, arrogant Mikito that she knew. The boy that was sitting with his head in his arms, his knees hugged to his chest was a different person.

"Mikito-san?" She asked cautiously. He didn't move. "Mikito-san?" She repeated, walking up to him. She sat down next to him, trying to get a look at his face. "Are… are you alright?" She asked softly.

"No." A low voice said, the voice so unlike the egotistical voice that she was used to. Since when was Mikito anything but fine? He had never admitted to weakness before, and yet now, that was exactly what he was doing. Sympathy and compassion rose up in Aki like mercury in a thermometer, and she did one of the most stupid, instinctive, idiotic things that she had ever done in her life.

She gave him a hug.

He stiffened and he nearly yelled vehement curses at her, pushing her away and hitting her with all his might, but as he readied himself to do it, he found that he simply couldn't.

Kill her! This… this common person is touching you! Kill her and then… and then… But as his initial thoughts were screaming those words at him, a small voice in the back of his head protested.

This is what you thought right before you pummeled Kyoko. And look what you did? You were born to be destructive and cruel. You are a vindictive person… just like your father.

Mikito bit his lip as hard as he could, but there was no fighting back the tears. They were already there, on his face, and on Aki's shoulder where he had laid his head. Her warm arms still were enveloping him in a hug, and such gentleness was so foreign that it was almost painful – no, it was painful. Like he had never done before, he let the tears flow and slowly, he let himself hug her back.

One floor below, Mikito's butler waited impatiently for the common girl to come out. Surely she had given her message already. Maybe there was something that she needed to discuss with the young master, he told himself, and he forced himself to wait patiently.

"Thank you." Mikito whispered, letting go of Aki, who did the same. She smiled at him, and for the first time he noticed how beautiful it was.

"No problem." She said, equally as softly. There was a long silence. "So… do you want to talk about whatever's bothering you?" She asked lightly. He swallowed.

"I…" he started. "I try to be nice to people." He blurted. "But… my dad trained me to always be proud, and to always look down on people. So my first thought is always to be… just like him." He said in a softer voice. "In truth, I really hate him. He doesn't love me at all, and all he wants is for me to be strong so that I'll live up to my samurai heritage and keep the reputation. I had two sisters before me… each one he killed at birth because they were girls. He got really mad at my mother, and he thought that I was a girl too, because of a misunderstanding between him and the doctor. And so he killed her. He told everyone that she died in childbirth, but my nurse told me the truth. She was fired for it." He was silent. "I really didn't want to hurt Kyoko… but it was as if my dad was there, telling me that I needed to be strong."

"Mikito… the true meaning of being strong lies in your heart." Aki said, her eyes warm and understanding. His own eyes shone with gratitude.

"I'll try to change myself." He said slowly but firmly. She nodded.

"Good. I'm glad…" She whispered. "You know, I used to really like you." She murmured softly, not really aware of what she was saying. "But you were always mean to me, Kyoko and Kamikaze. So then I didn't like you anymore." She had no idea what the point was. "But you know," she continued, now completely unaware of what she was saying. "I still think you're really cute." A tinge of pink appeared on his cheeks. "And maybe you can learn to be nice too…"

"I promise I'll change." He said, his voice equally as low.

"Good…" She breathed.

Slowly, they leaned closer, and closer…

Author's Note: Done! Okay, that's all for this chapter. Happy now, Mei Huo? (My friend who insisted that I put the last extra Aki/Mikito part in) Zhen shi, ni chou xiao zi… wa cuo, wo yi jing xie le tai duo le… (Translation: Really, you stubborn idiot… mild Shanghainese swearing, I already wrote too much…) Anyways, I'll post the next chapter soon! (Hopefully.)

By the way… this friend of mine, she has a boyfriend just like Mikito (except for maybe not that rich, but definitely more rich then us, and he used to be really arrogant and stupid as well) and I based these characters off of them. Her name means "Pretty Fire," and so I made her character's name autumn. So this is basically an account of yet another true experience, and I let her write the outline for this part, and I only made it look like my writing, so the last part goes to her.

I was sort of hesitant to post this chapter, because I wasn't sure if readers would like the whole focus on the students, which I'm pretty sure they wont. But if you dont like it, please dont read it. Like I said before, I'm writing this story more for myself and my friends that enjoy Genkai Toguro stories then anyone else. If you just didn't like the student thing... then... just... skip it. None of the other chapters will be this bad, I hope.

Okay, this chapter should be over by now, I'm rambling, and no one probably reads Author's Notes that are this long anyways...


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